Appliance for opening fiber bundles



Dec. 17, 1929. 'T R 1,740,439

APPLIANCE FOR OPENING FIBER BUNDLES Filed Aug. 18, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 1AAA/M f 7? I %z s gen Fig.5. 51%? KJZ-kz;

Dec. 17,1929.

R. SETZER APPLIANCE FOR OPENING FIBER BUNDLES Filed Aug. 18. 1927 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 17, 192., R. SETZER APPLIANCE FOR OPENING- FIBERBUNDLES Filed Aug. 18. 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVE/V TOR Padaf5e71LEM-9,439

mm, W, WZQ. F2. SETZER APPLIANCE FOR OPENING FIBER BUNDLES 7 Filed Aug.18, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INENTOIIL a. fig} Sager fi Kkiw, W

ing to the character of the material.

Patented Dec. 17, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPLIANCE FOR OPENINGFIBER BUNDLES Application filed August 18, 1927, Serial No. 213,958, andin Germany August 6, 1926.

10 fitted with knives, indented firms or spikes and pins, and revolvingwith considerable speed, thereby breaking up or opening the material,fed towards said cylinder, with the help of special mechanisms, designedaccoTrdhe opened material is carried through a current of air, regulatedin such Way, that all impurities, which are generally heavier than thefiber to be cleaned, are separated there- 2o from.

The principle of all these known machines, has the adheringdisadvantage, that the cylinder must have a very high circumferentialspeed, in order to create a suificient centrifugal force, for theseparation of the heavier impurities. It can be seen on the other handthat this high speed of the cylinder prevents any delicate treatment ofthe material during opening. In the fibrous material, which is broughtto the machine, the single fibers are completely tan led and with theincrease of speed of the revo ving spikes and pins, penetrating into thefibrous material, the danger is also increased of tearing the fibersinstead of disentangling them.

The present invention eliminates these dis advantages in such way, thatthe opening and the disentangling of the fibers is made inde-.

pendent of the speed of the cylinder to a smaller or larger degree.Whilst in the usual openers the circumferential speed of the cylinderequals the speed, which is used for disentangljng the fibers, the latteramounts in the method to! be described below to only a fraction of theformer.

For this purpose the fibrous material is caught by two or more combs,which are adranged in series, and also interlace, in such way, that thiscompound comb enters the of the fibers.

tuft and pulls the material caught. The disentangling of the caughtmaterial is carried out through moving the component parts of the abovedescribed compound comb away from each other in a manner more or lessdependent on the rotary speed of the comb whereby the caught material isopened. It is immaterial for the principle of the process, by what meansthe moving apart of the components of the compound comb is mechanicaL lyeffected, but it is important to select such design that the velocity isconsiderably lower than the velocity, with which the comb enters thetuft, and from Which the capacity of the machine depends.

The diameter of the average opener cylinder may be taken as 700 mm. andthe number of revolutions as 900; this means a velocity on thecircumference of about 33 In. second. With this high speed the spikesand pins on the like of the cylinder enter into the material. In themethod here described, the same speed, if given to the combs on thecylinders, is no more the deciding factor in the stresses arising fromthe disentangling In its place comes now the velocity, with which thecombs move apart, this latter velocity being only partly dependent fromthe rotary speed, but chiefly from the eccentricity of the cylinders.For cotton an eccentricity of 100 mm. is quite suflicient, so that itmay be estimated in this instance with a velocityv=3 m., which is thespeed of the disentangling motion, therefore about 10% of thecircumferential speed. The larger the diameter of the cylinders, themore favourable will be the ratio.

It is very important that the combs move along the cylinders withexactly the same cir cular velocity, so that it will never happen thatone or the other comb lags behind, for the danger may arise otherwise,that the corresponding combs will get entangled when meeting or parting.

In order that the object of this invention may be more readilyunderstood a schematic form and one embodiment of the same is by way ofexample only, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig.1 the arrangement of the teeth on entering the tuft n a side view,

Fig. 2 the same arrangement in a front view,

Fig. 3 the arrangement of the teeth whilst opening the fibrous materialin a side view, Fig. 4 the arrangement of Fig. 3 ina front view I F i g.5 the schematic view -forthe demonstration of the action of thedisentangling mot-ion,

Fig. 6 an embodiment of the object of Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 a sectional elevation of Fig. 6,

Fig. 8 an example of the application for a bale puller,

Fig. 9 an example of a single opening frame.

Pins, .needles or teeth 3 are fixed like a combfon bars 1 and 2, in sucha manner, that the pins, needles or teeth 3 of the bars 2 may come intosliding engagement with teeth 3 of the bars 1 or in a similar mannerbetween the teeth of the bars 1, so that they may act as only one rangeof teeth. The bars 1 are fixed in the sides 4c of a cylinder constitutedby said sides 4 united by the shaft 7 having radial, slits 5 receivingthe ends of the bars 2 ex-" tending within the eamming groove 6. Thisgroove 6 is also eccentrically mounted in regard to the shaft 7 of thecylinder, so that by the entrance of the material the greatestapproachment of the bars 1 and 2 to one another will occur and on theopposite position the greatest distance between these bars will be had.The centres of the two circles made by the bars or combs are arrangedeccentrically to each other, so that this arrangement provides a cardingaction and an opening effect on'the tuft, similar to the opening of thebatches with the fingers during the travel of the bars by turning of thecylinder half a round.

The feeding lattice 8 brings the cotton to the elevator lattice 9, abovewhich the knife 10 forces any surplus of cotton back into the feedingchamber or box. A beater device or arm 11 throws the little openedbatches from the pins of the elevator lattice 9 across a grid 12 andconveys them to an endless lattice 13, on which they are conveyed to afeeding arrangement 14. Upon leaving the feeding arrangement 14 they arecaught by the opposed sets of teeth 3 mounted to meet at that point, oneunit forming combs and opened on their continued movement until theycome into the path of the air current 15, emanating from the dust cages,and are sucked away. Through the movement of the needles a strongcentrifugal forceis developed at the same time which throws the firmtufts away against a breaking-up grid 16, so that a certain beateraction is created at this place. An adjustable air draft grid 17 isarranged behind the breaking-up grid 16, in order to increase or lessenthe suction effect.

Fig. 9 shows the present invention in the embodiment of a single openingframe. The cotton tufts come from the lattice 18, to the pedal feed 19and the feed roller 20, by which they are presented to the combs,needles or pins of the opening mechanism. In the moment of catching upthe tufts the needles of the two bars 1 and 2 form one unity. Uponfurther rotation, the bars 1 and 2 will part from one another and openthe tufts. The impurities are cast into the outer grid 21 or the innergrid 22. By means of a brush-like roller 23 and a stipper roller 24 thefibers leave the needles and are cau ht by a dofl'er 25. The floss willbe loosed f 25 by means of a blast pipe 26 or any other suitable meansknown in the art and put on the lattice 27. The lattice 27 brings thecotton web to the calendering rollers 28 on lap rollers 29 to form herethe lap 30.

In the process here described the fiber tufts are opened and the combsare acting as draft organs. It must alsobe borne in mind that in the oneconstruction the density of the pins alters with the increasing distancebetween the combs. The movement of the cjom'bs can be effected in thesimple manner, that" the inner combs are fastened on a solid cylinder ordrum, whilst the outer combs are fittdto discs, which are eccentricallypivoted. But it is also possible to move the outer rom the dofler combsin grooves, similar to gill boxes, so

that the movement of the combs, their twisting etc. is mechanicallycontrolled. Such grooves or guides will also regulate the speed. withwhich the combs move away from each other. 1

This arrangement can also be applied, as shown here, for other machinesas well as for the endless lattice here.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the natureof my saidinvention and in what manner the same isto be per;- for'med, I declarethat what I claim is 1. A device for opening fibrous material comprisingpairs of cooperating penetrating elements mounted for circularmovement,the points of the cooperatin penetrating elements of each pairbeing a apted during their movement to come adjacent each other forpenetrating together as a single penetrating point, the fibrous materialand thereafter to gradually part from each other for opening the fibrousmaterial.

2. A device for opening fibrous material comprising pairs of cooperatingpenetrating elements mounted for circular movements, the point of onepenetrating element of each pair being adapted during movement thereofto come adjacent the point of its cooperating penetrating element forpenetrating therewith as a single penetrating point the fibrousmaterial, and thereafter to gradually separate for opening the fibrousmaterial.

3. device for opening fibrous material comprising a rotatable cylinder,pairs of opposed cooperating penetrating elements car- 1 ried -by thecylinder, the points of said opposed cooperating penetrating elements ofeach pair being adapted with rotation of the cylinder to come ad1acenteach other for pen etrating together as a single penetrating point, thefi rous material and thereafter to gradually part from each other foropening the fibrous material.

4:. A device for opening fibrous material comprising a rotatablecylinder, pairs of op-' posed cooperating penetrating elements carriedby said cylinder, one penetrating element of each pair being fixed onsaid cylinder, the remaining penetrating element of each pair beingadapted during movement of the cylinder to come adjacent itsvcooperating fixed penetrating element whereb the points of saidcooperating penetrating e ements will meet to form a single penetratingpoint to penetrate therewith the fibrous material and thereafter togradually separate for opening 1 the fibrous material.

5. A device for o enin fibrous material comprisin a rotata le cylinder,a series of teeth fixed on said cylinder, a second series of teethmovably mounted on said cylinder and cooperatively associated with thefirst mentioned series of teeth, said series of movably mounted teethbeing adapted with rotation of the cylinder to come adjacent the fixedseries of teeth whereby the points of said cooperating series of teethwill meet to form a single penetrating point for penetrating terial.

the fibrous material, and thereafter to gradually separate for openingthe fibrous ma- 6. A device for openin 'fibrous material comprising arotatable cy inder, a series of teeth fixed on said cylinder, a secondseries of teeth movably mountedon said cylinder and -cooperativelyassociated with the first mentioned series of teeth, said series ofmovably mounted teeth being adapted with rotation of the cylinder tocome adjacent the fixed series of teeth whereby the points of saidcooperating series of teeth will -m 'eet to form a single penetratingpoint for penetrating the fibrous material, and thereafter to graduallyseparate for opening the fibrous material, and means fixed in 'saidcylinder for 'ding the movably mounted series of teeth in theirmovement.

In witness whereof I have hereunto setmy hand.

' RUDOLF SETZER;

